17-Year-Old Racks Up $8,200 In Xbox In-Game Charges, Microsoft Takes Pity On His Dad With Refund

A father in Canada is relieved that Microsoft dismissed a bill his son had racked up for in-game charges on this Xbox system just before Christmas. Had Microsoft decided to let the charges stand, as it initially did (more on that in a moment), he would have owed his credit card company more than $8,200, a tremendous sum that all went towards a $60 video game.

According to a local news report in Ottawa, his 17-year-old son used his credit card to make in-game purchases for one of the FIFA soccer games on his Xbox (it's not clear which FIFA title or whether it was for the Xbox 360 or Xbox One). The credit card was supposed to be used for emergencies and to buy supplies for a convenience store the family owns, but instead apparently ended up funding a massive amount of in-game content.

"It floored me. Literally floored me, when I'd seen what I was being charged," Lance Perkins, father of the 17-year-old, told CBC News. "There will never be another Xbox system—or any gaming system—in my home."

Perkins received the surprise bill on December 23, just two days before Christmas. It was for $7,625.88. After looking into it, he noticed previous charges related to the Xbox, ones that bumped the total to $8,206.43.

According to Perkins, his son thought he had made a one-time charge for the game and wasn't aware that he was racking up a huge bill. It sounds a little suspect, and at first, Microsoft said the charges would stand. There was also nothing the credit card company could do about the bill, unless Perkins wanted to charge his son with fraud.

Microsoft had a change of heart and removed the charges after Perkins explained that his son was a minor.